Sunday Frivolities

Let’s work together folks.

In honor of the Latin American ballplayers in Major League Baseball, we look at some baseball terminology in Spanish. One of the aspects that we often miss about Latin American ballplayers is the language barrier. Sure, we know it, and it’s common sense. But we rarely really put it into perspective. After they’ve been in the country for a while, people just expect them to be able to speak English perfectly.

There are a couple problems with this. One, English is really, really hard. I took a Spanish phonetics course last year, and when we looked at what sounds make vowels, Spanish has five (one for each letter) and about 20 for English with no real rule system. Two, they don’t really teach them baseball in the academy. Read Sugarball, and you’ll learn all the problems associated with their “teaching” of the English language and the American culture. Three, if they can’t speak it very well, it’s hard to practice. They often stay with other Latin American players because they understand each other. Then, reporters are really the only ones they talk to in English (along with coaches), and reporters and the media have a reputation for dissecting speech. With that fear, they don’t want to speak English. You can blame Sosa for not speaking Spanish in that Congressional hearing, but I sure as hell don’t.

Anyway, I’ve always felt that we should go halfway. I’m a Spanish major, and I certainly realize how hard it is to speak another language. It’s my job to learn, and I still find it difficult. I can’t imagine how hard English is for non-native speakers. As part of a mission to help, I thought we could all learn some baseball terms in Spanish. I’ll give you some below. Next time you meet someone who primarily speaks Spanish, remember some of these as you two talk baseball.